Give Up, Give In
by eventhestarsdie
Summary: Four months of falling in love, four months of persistent pursuing, and four months of constant rejection. You've got to give up at some point. Or, maybe, you've just got to give in.


**A/N: Hey, guys. Just a short drabble I wrote up. It's nothing special, I'm not overly pleased with it and I feel like it's missing something - maybe I'll update it when I realise what it is. But until then, I thought you might like a read. **

**Please review and leave some feedback if you can. It would be much appreciated, especially if you can figure out what it is that this fic is missing!**

**_Enjoy!_  
**

******Disclaimer: I don't think I really need to mention this but, of course, I don't own Harry Potter. I'm not the wonderful J.K. Rowling, just an overly-obsessed fan.**

* * *

"Give up, Lily," he sighed.

"Give in, Remus," she mimicked.

Lily's arms were folded across her chest as she secretly smiled at her quick, mocking comeback – she had clearly spent too much time around Sirius. Her cheeks were tinted pink from the cold, crisp air, and her red waves rattled in the wind. The pair were standing on the Covered Bridge; Remus was leaning through one of the arches, his forearms draped across the wooden ledge, gazing out across the vast grounds of Hogwarts whilst Lily stood behind him, eyes boring into the back of his skull, a determined smirk playing on her blushed lips.

Remus dropped his head and groaned.

"Lily," he sighed, "you're wasting your time. Look at all the other guys pining after you – you could be in Hogsmeade right now sipping on a Butterbeer, enjoying the company of someone who can love you back – so why are you here? Why are you with me?"

"But you _can _love me back, Remus, and you do. I know you do," she said. Her smug look deteriorated and softened into something warm and gentle. Lily stepped forward into one of the arches, the one next to Remus, and peered her head round the wooden pillar, her eyes now locked on him.

He refused to meet her gaze.

It was getting harder and harder to refuse Lily, and the more persistent and kind she was, the more Remus fell. He just _knew _if he looked into her eyes – oh her wonderful, lustrous, emerald eyes – he wouldn't be able to resist her love any longer. And he couldn't do that to her.

"I'm bad for you, Lily."

"I'm good for you, Remus."

He couldn't argue with that.

Remus sighed, massaging his temples. He then let his hands wash over his face soothingly as he plucked up the courage to look at her, silently giving himself the _"come on Remus, you can do this" _pep talk. He needed to do this. He needed to look at her when he rejected her – Lily needed to know this wasn't real. It wasn't real. It _can't _be real.

When he looked up, when their eyes finally did meet, he realised what a bad idea it was. Her smile was soft and loving and her eyes glistened with hope. _Those emerald eyes- _his lip trembled slight as he tried to hold back a gasp.

Lily, now that she could see all of him so clearly, noticed the faint scars still etched upon his miserable face. During the last full moon Remus had a terrible episode which ended in him, Sirius and James fighting just to keep him in line. All three boys had wounds to show for it but Remus was the worst off. To every other student, it just looked like they had got into a brawl with one another – but Lily knew the truth. Peter had once confided in her about their Animagus forms and how they kept Remus company during his transformations. This was at a time when he thought he would lose the other three, them having been locked up in the Hospital Wing for over two days (without a single word from their teachers about how they were holding up) after a midnight brawl much like this one. That was some time ago and, while she didn't love him then like she does now, she didn't see why being a werewolf made him any different than anybody else. Her views still haven't changed but it was hard to make Remus see that.

Lily raised her hand and traced her fingers along the long, healing scars, sending shivers down Remus's spine. His mind was suddenly sent back to the previous week; the day after this "episode". They were standing in exactly the same spot that night, too.

* * *

_Lily raised her hand, a concerned look on her face as she reached out to touch the fresh, red welts..._

_Remus snapped back out of reach. He shook his head and sighed in frustration. _

"_No, don't you see? This can't happen any more. I've let you chase me for longer than I should've but now I'm telling you it's got to stop. It's time to let me go, Lily. The fun's over," Remus shouted at her over the howling winds. _

_While the rain thrashed around in all directions, pelting their faces and soaking through their robes, Lily stood there gazing back at him like a statue. It was as if she hadn't heard a single word. She did, but just refused to accept them. _

"_I'm a monster, Lil. A _fucking _werewolf! Look at me," he motioned towards he wounds that blanketed his face, "I hurt people. Every month, like clockwork, I transform into this... beast and I hurt people. I've already dragged others into this mess, but I just can't drag you into this, too. I can't take that chance with you," he said. His voice was shaking now and, if it weren't for the torrential downpour of rain cloaking them and their entire surroundings, Lily would've sworn he was crying. As much as she wanted to run over to him and bury herself in his slopping wet robes; hold him until he calmed down; press tender kisses over all of his scars, she didn't. She just stood by and let him continue._

"_I- I care for you, Lily, I- oh, for the love of Merlin – I love you, alright? These past few months have been the best with you. You make me laugh with all your little snide, playful comments about my friends, you're there for me when I feel I have no one else, you listen to my problems and give me good advice, you make me forget everything – this goddamn curse – and you're beautiful. You make _me _feel beautiful," Remus paused and let out a heavy sigh. He was shaking now and his throat was feeling sore and raw. "And, you see, that's why we can never work. You're so perfect and I'm so broken, and I refuse to be a burden to you. I don't think I could take the heartbreak when you decide I'm too much for you to handle," he finished. _

_Remus used all of his strength to pull his gaze away from Lily's piercing eyes, and turned, ready to walk away. He had only managed a few steps before her words rung through his ears._

"_Moony," she stated. And it was just that: a statement. He turned to look at her, finding her in the same state except, this time, it was like she was staring straight into his soul. It made him feel so vulnerable. _

_In a moment of panic, Remus, wide-eyed and overwhelmed by feelings he didn't understand, violently turned away and ran back to his dormitory. _

* * *

_Moony._

He understood now.

Lily was calling him by his name. The name given to him, and used only, by James, Sirius and Peter – not only his friends, but his closest friends. The ones whom he knew would never leave or grow tired of him. The ones whom had made a silent oath, strong than any unbreakable vow, to stick by him no matter what; through thick and thin.

Now Lily was taking that oath upon herself. She, too, promised to never leave, never tire of Remus, but, in return, he would have to surrender his heart.

"Lily," he croaked in a low, broken whisper. She smiled softly up at him.

Remus took her hand, which still caressed his cheeks, and pulled it away from his face. He let her hand drop and watched her face drop with it. Though, stepping around the wooden barrier that had come between them, he watched as the hope slowly rekindled, along with slight confusion, in her expression.

"Lily," he said, again, before clearing his throat to continue. "I- I can't promise that I'll be the best, because I know I won't, and when it comes to _my_ time of the month, well, I'm going to be bitchy as hell. You know how irritable I get," he said with a small, weak, but genuine, smile. Lily huffed through her nose in amusement, her own smile growing as Remus look her hands in his shaky ones. She let her fingers glide over the scars that also resided there but held his gaze the entire time. "But I can promise that I will try. I'm going to try my very hardest to make us work because I'm not giving in just to throw it all away a few weeks later- _Merlin!_" he exclaimed, "I'm giving in!" Remus chuckled.

"Finally," Lily replied, rolling her eyes for effect. She joined in with his laugher whilst tugging at his hands and pulling him closer to her. "It's only been – what? Three months? _Four? _I was beginning to give up on you," she joked. It was now Remus's turn to roll his eyes.

"You were never going to give up on me," he stated, smiling as he, too, closed the gap between them. He was nervous and cautious in his movements, as if he was scared of hurting her, but he never once stopped – not like before when he would run at the slightest niggle of fear for her. Remus looked down at Lily and realised what a fool he had been to keep her away all this time. "You were always going to get me in the end, weren't you, Miss Evans?"

"_Always."_

She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her soft, pliable lips against the tender welts on his cheeks. Taking her time, she kissed every single one, not stopping even when the surface became damp and salty.


End file.
